Fire Emblem: Twice More
by SassyElfDude
Summary: A lot of stories start with "What If?" It's always interesting to see what might have been and what could change based on slight variables. So allow me to raise you one more. What If Validar fathered not just the avatar of Grima, but rather a set of twins. Follow the story you all know and love with a slight twist as the two aspiring tacticians struggle to overcome fate!
1. Premonition

**AN/INTRO:**

**Hello people of the internet! Welcome one and all to my wonderful little story! I've been patrolling around this website after completing Awakening in search of stories to help grasp my fleeting interest in this game. I have found a few I enjoyed a great deal, and have found myself inspired to try my hand at this.**

**Before we begin I would like to give credit to my inspirations, I**_**nvisible Ties**_ **by** **Metallover or **_**Interviews with a Tactician**_ **by Scourge of Infinis. I know neither of these people personally but they write good stories so check them out.**

**Well, I've dragged this on long enough, here is your complimentary warning on it being my first story I've written here and how criticism is welcome. Oh, also something along the lines of Fire Emblem not being owned by me. Enjoy.**

* * *

_Weapons clashed throughout the room, echoing unnaturally as the 4 figures battled viciously. Spell and Blade traded blow for blow with Dark magic as they all fought to put the other side down. All throughout, the room was illuminated by an unnatural purple light emitting from the massive barrier that bisected the room. It didn't last however, with a triumphant cry and the sickening sounds of steel through flesh, the barrier, along with its light, dissipated, and the room was left in darkness. The only noise heard was the ever so quiet sobs and heavy breathing._

_Of the four figures, only two remained._

"_Amy what…? Oh no…." began the taller of the two remaining individuals as the severity of the situation dawned on him._

_Amy, the shorter one, turned from where she was kneeling to respond, but the words died on her tongue as behind them the room grew rapidly brighter as remaining dark energy converged on a single point and a terrible voice carried out once more in the death cry of their defeated enemy._

"_Agh! This isn't over. DAMN YOU BOTH!" it cried. And a bolt of dark magic was launched out at the remaining fighters._

_The kneeling figure was on her feet in an instant, leaping into action and tossing aside her ally out of the path of the dark magic. She was too slow however, as just as the force carried her friend out of danger, it carried her into it. The bolt of energy crashed into her, and she was sent flying several meters._

_Her friend recovered only seconds later. Sparing a glance to confirm that was the last their opponent had in store for them, he raced to the side of his downed companion. Propping her head up he began to reach for a vial of blue liquid located in a pouch on his belt. Before he could, however, his eyes went wide and he stumbled back, a small elegant looking dagger lodged in his chest. Amy's eyes travelled downwards to her now empty, mildly blood covered, hand and back up to her friends rapidly fading eyes._

"_This is not your…" the her friend began, stumbling over his words as he clutched at his wound. "your fault. Promise me…" He fell to a knee and struggled to slur out what he had left to say. "Promise me you'll get out of here. Please. Go."_

* * *

Chrom resisted the urge to chuckle as his sister let out an exaggerated sigh for the third time in the past 5 minutes.

"Is everything alright m'lady? If you're tired, you could rest in the saddle for a spell." Offered their loyal retainer, who was leading his warhorse by the reigns. Despite how heavy the plate mail he was wearing must have weighed on him.

"I'm fine Frederick." Began his sister. "It's just so boring!" she cried with a huff, crossing her arms.

Chrom couldn't resist it this time and chuckled to himself before turning on his heel, walking backwards so he could properly address his sister face to face. "You know, this is how almost all of our scouting trips go Lissa. If you really want to be a shepherd you'll have to get used to this."

Lissa opened her mouth to respond but stopped short as her eyes caught something behind her brother. "Chrom look!" she almost shouted, pointing behind him."

Chrom turned to look at what had gotten his sisters attention. Squinting a bit until he saw it. A bit off in the distance a purple figure lied sprawled out at the base of a hill, just off of a side path.

Frederick clicked his tongue as he spotted the figure. "It's just a traveller m'lady. Nothing worth worrying about."

"What? No look at him! Look at what he's wearing. He's gotta be a noble or something." Observed Lissa, gesturing wildly to the the figures clothing, which was a long purple coat, laced with gold trimmings and covered in several different patterns.

"Your point?" Replied Fredrick, raising an eyebrow.

Chrom tuned out the debate at this point. Instead choosing to focus on the individual. He had always had better than average eyesight compared to everyone else. Placing a hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun, he began to pick up details.

"But-but-but…" Lissa stuttered, obviously growing a tad frustrated at Frederick for not being nearly as excited as she was.

Frederick raised his hand, cutting her off and began to say in a 'matter 'o fact' tone of voice "All I'm saying is that it's entirely possible that the person is simply resting."

"Facedown?" Interjected Chrom as he began to walk briskly towards the individual having noticed how unnaturally still they where. Add the fact that their face was in the dirt and you could say Chrom was a little worried.

Frederick watched in trepidation as Lissa hurried after her brother. Sighing to himself in much the same way Lissa had earlier he mounted his faithful steed and made off after them, lance at the ready and eyes scanning the horizon. For some reason, Frederick just couldn't shake the feeling of something being amiss.

* * *

**AN: And that brings us to the end of the Premonition! A little short but hopefully, I've piqued at least a few peoples interests. It shouldn't be long before I have the next chapter out. As mentioned before, anything from helpful guides to strongly worded complaints are welcome. The point of this is to get better at writing above all else so don't be shy.**


	2. Prologue

**The Verge of History**

**Hello people of the internet! I'm back with the first chapter. Before I begin, however, I'd like to apologize for being so late, I had come down ill a few days after I posted the Premonition and hadn't had much time to work on this. I'm better now, mostly, so things should go smoother from here on out.**

"M'lord, a word, if you please."

"What is it, Frederick?"

"Now that we're closer, I recognize the coat. It bears resemblance to those found on Plegian darkmages. I advise caution."

Chrom sighed to himself and let loose a slight smile. "You always advise caution Frederick," he said, staring up at his armoured friend.

Frederick turned his attention forward once again, setting his eyes on the subject of conversation laying a short distance in front of them. "All the same M'lord," he said, still rigidly keeping watch on the figure and the surrounding area.

"Of course. Thank you, Frederick, I'll keep it in mind." Chrom strode forward the few paces needed to close in on where his sister was doing a rough medical check on the newly identified woman.

"How is she?" He asked in place of a proper introduction.

Lissa shrugged. "As far as I can tell she just fainted here. Aside from a bruise from where she hit her head she's completely unharmed," she stated, turning back to her work, staff in hand, luckily it hadn't been needed.

Chrom smiled and went to respond but was cut short as the mysterious woman, groaned quietly and shifted.

Both Chrom and Lissa sat silently in front of the figure waiting for another sign. When nothing happened Lissa turned to her brother. "Chrom… We have to do something." She said, a little bit of worry evident in her voice.

"What do you propose we do?"

"Uh, I don't know!"

Before they could continue their conversation however, their attention was dragged onto the figure when her eyes ever so slowly open up for the first time. Lissa gasped slightly, a smile now clearly on her face as she bent down a bit and stared at the woman on the ground.

Chrom also lent in, seeing her eyes lazily shift between him and his sister, he decided now as good a time as any to begin. "I see you're awake now," he said in a kind voice.

"Hey there." his sister began with a smile and a slight chuckle.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground y'know. Give me your hand" He said, reaching a glove-clad hand out towards the person and shifting attention back to him.

Slowly, the person brought her own hand to meet his. Chrom absently noted the odd tattoo on the back of it, much similar to the patterns adorning her coat. But he put the thought aside, for now, decided to focus on the matter at hand.

"You all right?" He asked, after seeing the woman begin to gather her bearings. She was almost a head shorter than Chrom, about as tall as Lissa. With shorter and wilder brown hair that matched her eyes. Looking at her, she was probably even younger than his sister. If she was a Plegian spy, Chrom doubted she would be any danger to them.

His musings were cut short, however, as the woman opened her mouth to speak. "Y-yes… Thank you, Chrom."

"Ah, then you know who I am?" Chrom asked after a moment, a bit disappointed for a reason he himself didn't know.

He watched as her face became one of confusion, she shook her head a bit, looked at him again, and then sheepishly put one of her hands to the back of her head. "No, actually, I… It's strange… Your name, it just… came to me…" she trailed off.

Absently Chrom took note of that. "Curious." He muttered. I didn't matter he decided. Instead, choosing to try and get some answers as to what the person's purpose was. "Tell me," he said grabbing the woman's attention. "What's your name? What brings you here?"

The woman responded a bit quicker this time. Apparently happier with the turn of subject. "My name is…" She began, pausing a moment as the confusion set back in, "Its… uh…" she looked up at Chrom with a bit of worry. "I don't know…" she finished, giving up on recalling it.

Now it was Chrom's turn to be confused. "...You don't know your own name?" he asked incredulously

She paused, shifting her attention away from the trio in front of her and onto the surroundings. "I'm not sure if… I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?" She asked

Lissa took this moment to jump into the conversation. "I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!" she said excitedly

Chrom had heard of amnesia before of course, but he turned to see what Frederick thought of the story, no doubt he was skeptical at least. But to his surprise, Frederick had wandered a little ways away, on the other side of the road, peering into a ditch. Before he could ask what he was doing, Frederick turned his way and called him over

"M'lord, you might want to see this."

Curiosity peaked, Chrom began walking over to the knight. His sister and new found acquaintance follow closely behind.

They reached the side of the road and looked into the ditch. There lying at the bottom in a heap. Was another individual. This one was wearing a coat almost identical with the amnesiac, but his was a bit more tattered in places. Along the right side of his neck and what they could see of his body, where odd burns, the looked fresh. Lissa wasted no time getting to work. If there was one thing she took seriously it was her duties as a cleric. She slid into the ditch staff in hand and set about tending to his wounds. The individual recoiled slightly to her touch but was obviously too wounded to put up much of a resistance.

Confident that if she needed his assistance she would ask for it. Chrom turned to the other woman in their party. "Do you know him?" he questioned.

The woman was staring done at the individual obviously worried. It took her a moment to realize she had been addressed. "What uh… I don't know. I think so." she eventually answered.

"You think so?" Frederick said. His voice was weighted heavily with doubt. It was quite evident that he didn't trust either of these people.

"Uh.. ya. He seems familiar, is all" She stuttered back

"You expected is to believe that you remember M'lord's name but not your own or that of your companion?"

"But… but it's the truth!" She exclaimed defensively, taken a step back from the knight.

Chrom put his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a smile and turned to address his retainer. "And what if she is telling the truth Frederick? We can't just leave them out here confused and wounded. What kind of shepherds would we be then?

Frederick bowed his head slightly, "I would still like to highlight the importance of caution, M'lord. Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock"

"Right then. Once the other ones ready to move, we'll take them both back to town, and sort it out there." Chrom declared. He turned back down to Lissa to see just how long they would have to wait. He was surprised to see that the wounded individual had been propped up and was taking a drink from a waterskin. Lissa sat nearby looking at his arm, which was covered in weird burns that snaked up it.

"I don't know what did this to you but I can say that you should be alright now." She said without looking up.

The man nodded and capped off the waterskin before handing it back to her.

"Alright, I want you to try standing for me." She said, rising to her own feet, a hand outstretched to take his.

Doing as he was told, he reached out and took Lissa's hand before attempting to right himself with her help. He winced a bit and was a tad bit shaky at first, but ultimately was able to stand up straight.

"Good, now do you see that tree stump all the way over there?" she said pointing a little bit down to the road. Receiving a nod in return, she continued. "Try walking there and back and let me know if something goes wrong." Again he nodded and set out to complete the assigned task.

Chrom waited a moment and then chuckled a bit before approaching and placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Well, _Doctor_ Lissa what's your diagnosis?" how asked sarcastically.

She pouted a bit in response before turning back to watch how the man faired with his task. "He can't remember anything either, not even his name." She said a bit of worry evident in her voice. "His wounds were odd too, they looked magical in nature but not from any spell I've seen."

Chrom nodded thoughtfully and then turned back to watch the man returning from his task.

"It's Bishop." the amnesiac woman blurted out suddenly.

The four of them turned to look at her, eyebrows raised.

Realizing that she'd need to explain she pointed to her counterpart. "Your name. It's Bishop" she clarified. "It just sorta came to me, while you were walking.

"Bishop," He said, testing out the newly given name. "That sounds… right, for some reason."

"Well then," Chrom said, clearing his throat, "Southtown isn't getting any closer and the day isn't getting any longer." He gestured down the open road. "Shall we?"

Chrom grunted as he caught an axe blade with his sword. With a bit of effort, he shoved it aside and struck at the now exposed wielder. With a thud the bandit crumpled to the ground, allowing Chrom a moment to gather himself. Around him, the town was in shambles. Smaller huts and sheds had been set alight, and market stalls, barrels and anything else that wasn't nailed down had been overturned. They had made it almost all the way to town on their own before they noticed the smoke rising over the hills. In his haste, Chrom had charged headlong into the fray and was regretting it now. They were making minimal progress towards the center of town, where the militia was supposedly holding and had been cut off in a marketplace of sorts by the bandit's leader. The rugged looking man had held himself up in the shadow of the town's cathedral and seemed content to just sit and shout orders for the time being. Chrom was a bit worried about the two amnesiacs they left just on the outskirts of town. Now isn't the time to be distracted however he thought to himself as he sidestepped a shoddy attempt at a decapitation and sliced the back of the stumbling would-be murder.

A third bandit reached him at that time and Chrom prepared to dispatch this one as well before it was run through by a blow from Frederick's lance.

"Might I ask what exactly our plan is here, M'lord." He said whilst letting gravity free the bandit from his weapon.

"I don't really know," Chrom admitted.

A familiar voice carried itself from a short ways behind them. "Then allow us, lord Chrom."

Chrom turned to eye the newcomers, only to come face to face with the two amnesiacs he had left earlier. "What… what are you two doing here?"

The female amnesiac stepped forward. "We'd like to help. Both of us are armed for combat." To punctuate her words, she raised a worn tome. The book was purple with gold trimmings, matching the colours of her coat. Bishop also pulled at an almost identical looking tome, only his appeared more well used.

Chrom eyed the books suspiciously. "Tombs? So your mages then?

Bishop absently flipped through the book in his hands. "We believe so, I suppose we should check?" he said without looking up.

Chrom's doubt only grew. "You 'believe so'? Perhaps I'll keep a few paces behind you for the time being…"

Bishop carefully closed the book and tucked it under his arm. "Not to worry. I'm sure I can control it," he said, a strange confidence exuding from him that wasn't there before.

A nod was all Chrom gave in response. Before he could say anymore, Bishop's counterpart stepped forward and began to speak.

"Alright so here's what I was thinking…"

Chrom couldn't help but smile as another bandit twitched and fell before he could get close. The two amnesiacs turned out to both be competent magicians and, following their plan the group had managed to gain considerably more ground rather quickly. They were fighting their way across a stone bridge. On the other side stood their target, the apparent leader of the bandits. The amnesiacs pointed out that without the leader telling them what to do, the bandits were likely to scatter and had made taking him out their top priority.

Chrom winced slightly as a mote of flame was hurled over his shoulder, a little too close for comfort, and hit another bandit square in the chest. He turned behind him and gave a mock glare at the sheepish looking amnesiac who responded with an apologetic wave.

Bishop spoke up. "Guys, pay attention. We've got a problem," he said, pointing forward.

Chrom turned back to the bandits and realized rather quickly what the problem was. The bandits were gathering in a group around their leader, who had been shouting orders in Plegian tongue that he didn't quite understand.

He eyed the group with worry. Unlike how they had been a few moments ago, if the horde all charged them at once, he wouldn't be able to protect the amnesiacs behind him.

Bishop set to work almost as soon as he saw what they were doing. "Sir Frederick, watch Lissa, ensure nothing happens to her," he called, then began searching the ground around him for something. Finding what he was looking for he reached down and picked up a sword dropped by one of the bandits earlier.

"Amy catch!" he called out as he threw the blade to his counterpart, scooping another off the ground for himself just as the bandit leader spurred the horde into action and they charged full force at them…

-

"Bwaaargh!" With a final cry, the bandit leader went limp. With a flourish, Chrom withdrew falchion from the man's chest and stuck it tip first into the ground. He leaned on it for support and let out a sigh of relief, looking around briefly to see that the rest of the bandits had been dealt with. Turning to his companion he had worked with to defeat the leader only to see her looking just as tired. She sat cross-legged on the floor with her acquired sword in her lap, leaning back on her hands for support.

"So…" Chrom began, "Your names Amy is it?"

The woman in question turned her gaze to meet his. A raised eyebrow showing him that she didn't quite understand him.

"Back there when Bishop tossed you your sword, he called you Amy." he clarified

"Oh," she chuckled to herself, "I didn't notice really. It must have come to him just as his had come to me."

The two of them turned to look at the man in question. As it turns out, despite being rather skilled with his lightning magic, swordplay wasn't one of his strengths apparently. During the fight, he had been wounded and had to pull back to where Frederick was. Currently, he sat atop a crate as Lissa hovered around him and inspected his wounds. Chrom could tell that she was tired too, all the healing she'd done today had probably taken a lot out of her.

He watched as the two chatted a bit, sharing a brief laugh before they both stood and began to make their way over to him and Amy. Just as they got to them, however, their attention was drawn elsewhere as Frederick came riding down the road. He had left to check the state of the townsfolk and the militia in the town center earlier and were now awaiting his news.

As he approached he slowed to a stop and dismounted a slight ways away from them. "The bandits have been routed, It appears word of their leader's demise travelled quickly. It was a wise decision to let a few get away," he said, his face remained stoic as ever.

Lissa giggled. "Lucky for the town, we were close by. But holy wow, Amy!" she said, "You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you and your brother can't do?" she exclaimed animatedly.

"My brother?" Amy questioned, obviously confused.

"Well ya... " began Lissa, "I mean look at you two! You're practically identical. You might even be twins." she exclaimed, as the two supposed 'twins' shared a look with one another.

"Regardless, you're obviously not the helpless victims we thought you were." Chrom interrupted, steering the conversation back on course.

"Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?" Frederick said still skeptical as he's always been

"No hold on a second. We just…" began Amy, before she was cut off by Bishop.

Confident that his sister wasn't going to say something they'd regret, he turned and addressed his accuser. "I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to us. But please, believe me. We have shared all that we know."

Deciding he wasn't going to sit and let his new friends be interrogated, Chrom interjected. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough," he said, rising to his full height and sharing a friendly smile with the two.

"And your mind, milord? Will, you not heed its council as well?"

Growing a tad bit annoyed with the whole thing Chrom turned to address his retainer. "Frederick," he began slowly, "the Shepherds could use someone with their talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbours, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such able tacticians? Besides, I believe their story, odd as it might be." He finished flashing another smile

Amy returned one of her own, "Aww, thanks Chrom." she said. Bishop meanwhile simply nodded his thanks.

"So how about it then? Will you join us?"

"Of course. We would be honoured." Bishop answered for the two of them.

Chrome smiled, He had been looking for a tactician for the Shepherds for some time now but all the ones that were brought to him were simply put, obnoxious. People who spent more time within the confines of the court then was good for them. Regardless, he thought, I've got a good feeling about the future, he felt pretty good about going forward knowing that they'd be at his side.


	3. Update

Hello people on the internet. First and foremost I would like to say sorry for the fact that I haven't done anything with this story for quite some time. Life's been rather hectic and it has to always come first unfortunately. Luckily, the powers that be have seemed fit to ease up on me though so soon I should be able to resume work on this story, and hopefully some others as well. I'm still rounding some things off which is why this update is a little rushed but I promise I'll be back at it as soon as possible


	4. The Shepherds

**The Shepherds**

**Hello people of the internet! Here it is as promised! Chapter three of Fire Emblem: Twice More. I would like to begin by apologizing. Shortly after I posted the last chapter exams began and was immediately followed by the beginning of summer and the start of some pretty serious real-life issues. Needless to say, I haven't been all that productive. I'm back now though, at least for a little while so I'll try to be more active and make the most of this. With that, let's begin with the return of FE Twice More!**

* * *

In a frantic yet measured series of movements. Bishop darted around the room. "Where is it!?" he muttered to himself as he pulled out there contents of yet another drawer.

"My goodness what a mess you've made…"

Bishop stopped and spun around to face the newcomer. A woman, older than himself by the look. He didn't pay much attention to her. His focus was instead on the folded garment in her arms.

"My coat!" He exclaimed as he crossed the room to her. "I thought I'd lost it!"

The woman, who Bishop now recognized as Maribelle having introduced herself the night prior, held it out to him. He took it gratefully as she began to speak. "If I had known how much it would affect you I would have left a note," She said as she gestured to the room.

Bishop paused for a moment and then turned to view the room that he had been provided for him and his sister. It laid in ruins, different pieces of apparel found itself scattered around and not one piece of furniture was exactly where it had begun

"Oh uh… Right. Sorry," He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and turned back to her. He then let the coat fall to its full length and went to inspect it. Pausing as he eyed the previously tattered edges, which were now in perfect condition. If it wasn't for his sister being a head taller than him, he would have suspected it was actually her coat.

Seeing his confusion the woman explained. "If you're going to be taking on the role of tactician for the Shepherds, you're going to need to look the part. I took the liberty of having it repaired for you,"

Bishop's gratefulness fell away into worry as he eyed the repairs with dismay. "I can't… I can't afford that…"

"Not to worry, I was able to get a discount as a regular to the tailor who made the repairs. You owe me no more than a measly 50 gold pieces," Marrible declared, obviously proud of herself for taking into account the cost.

Bishop took the coat in one hand and began fishing through the inside pockets with the other, he scrounged around for a couple awkwardly long seconds before he finally pulled out an aged leather pouch. He upturned this pouch onto his outstretched hand and watched as several silver-coloured coins fell into it. He took a moment to count them all before he returned his gaze to Maribelle

"I have 11 silver," He stated simply

Maribelle paused for a moment, it seemed she was having trouble processing the words. "W-What about at your estate, it would be no trouble for me to wait a while if you need time,"

Bishop cupped his hand to his chin, "I don't think I own an estate. I'm not sure how much Chrom intends to pay me so you might have to wait a while. Would that be alright,"

Maribelle took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Your not a noble," She muttered under her breath. "Where does Chrom find you people." With a sigh, she composed herself, straightened her posture and made to leave. "Don't worry about the coin. You can make it up to me by meeting me in the library later tonight, As the shepherd's tactician you are responsible for more than just ensuring victory." She explained. "How you appear to the public is just as important and we will need to educate you on the intricacies of high society." With that she left the room, closing the door behind her leaving a confused Bishop in her wake.\

* * *

"Then it's decided. The shepherds will march to Feroxi and request aid."

"Very well Prince Chrom, but before we leave there is still one more issue."

Chrom raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"She is referring to our new 'recruits' M'lord." supplied Frederick who stood stalwart to the side of the table.

_This again_ thought chrom. "I've already said that both Amy and Bishop have my trust and I don't see any reason to…"

"All the same Prince Chrom" Interrupted Phila. "We still think it best if some countermeasures were put in place should you trust prove misplaced,"

Chrom opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by his older sister. "If they truly are deserving of your trust, and I have no doubt they are, then there's no harm in at least keeping an eye on them is there?" She reasoned.

The prince looked from his retainers to his sister before finally leaning back in his chair and sighing to himself. "If you say so Emm. I'll make sure to pay attention to them during the march."

Frederick said nothing but it was obvious that he wasn't satisfied with his answer. Even so, he remained silent.

Emmeryn gave a disarming smile and stood from the table. "That concludes our meeting for today then." She turned to Chrom. "We won't keep you any longer dear brother. You have a march to plan after all."

Chrom chuckled as he made to leave. "Not anymore I don't," He said with a smile. "I've got two Tacticians to do it for me." He said as he left. Leaving the two captains and the exalt alone in the room.

Frederick spoke up first. "If you'll excuse me, your grace," he said with a bow "But I think It's best If I follow him."

Emmeryn nodded. "Thank you, Sir Frederick. I can always rely on you to watch out for my brother,"

"Of course your grace." And with that, Frederick took his leave.

* * *

_What a lovely morning _Thought Stahl as he made his way down one of the many halls that made up the majority of the Ylissian royalty residence. He didn't need to think about where he was going, rather he followed his nose which was picking up the scent of all the delicious food being served for breakfast. He wasn't close enough to pick out what exactly those were but he was certain he could smell muffins, and even cakes now that he focused on it.

"Hey, you! Green guy!" A voice called from behind him.

Stahl turned to face the voice, finding himself watching as what appeared to be a little girl approaching him.

"Uh, I'm sorry kid. Are you lost?" He questioned. She was adorned by a purple coat covered in strange yellow markings. Her messy hair, which had been put up in a loose ponytail, bobbed behind her as she strode forward with confidence.

It seemed to take a moment for his words to register to her. "Me? lost? Haha no, as a matter of fact, you're the one who's lost." She stated plainly.

Stahl thought for a moment. "No. I know where I'm going. I'm also allowed to go there. The palace isn't a place for people like you to really be wandering about. If Frederick found you you'd be in serious trouble."

"What? Nah, me and Freddy are cool don't worry. It's yourself you have to be worried about, we're about to leave without you and if he finds your slacking I'd say it wouldn't go well for you,"

This whole conversation was making his head spin. He needed some food. But first, he needed to get rid of this kid. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm really hungry so I'm going to go grab some food. If you and Frederick are such good friends then why don't you go ask him for help?" He turned to leave when suddenly the girl grabbed his hand and began pulling him along behind her. In the opposite direction to the kitchen.

"Nope, no time for food we're going to be late if we don't start walking now."

"Wait late for what? "Stahl questioned?

"The march of course! What else?" She stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Now hold on what march?"

"The one to Feroxi? You know the one Vaike told you about?"

"I was never… Damn Vaike," Stahl muttered as he was being dragged along, the realization of what had occurred finally dawning on him. "Hey uh… who are you anyway?" Stahl questioned falling into step behind the surprisingly swift girl.

"Oh me? I'm Amy. Your new tactician." She said whilst thrusting her thumb to her chest to accent her point.

"Oh." was all that Stahl had to say. He had heard that the Shepherds had gotten two new tacticians but he was honestly expecting someone… wiser looking. Although now that he looked at her she was probably a little older than he originally gave her credit for. _Still not old enough to be on the battlefield _he thought.

They walked at a quick pace down the halls of the palace heading towards the Shepherd's barracks. It only took so long before Stahl couldn't hold back the questions any longer. "So... " He began lamely, "Why did Chrom hire you?"

"Hmm? Oh, he found me and my brother unconscious on the side of the road and when he found out that we were able tacticians he hired us then and there." She answered

"I see… And what were you doing on the side of the road?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me, we think we were attacked but why can't say for sure because we don't remember any of it, or remember anything about our past, to be honest."

Stahl's confusion turned to worry. "Anything, you don't know where you came from? Where you were born? What your favourite food is?" As strange as his priorities were, Stahl couldn't help feeling responsible for the amnesiac.

"Nope!" she said happily

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Not in the slightest. The way I see it, I just get to experience it all over again. I'll figure out what my favourite food is eventually but for now, I got other things to worry about. Like what to get for Chrom as a 'Thank you for giving me a job because I was basically homeless until you came along' gift.

Stahl thought on it for a moment. Even though Chrom's birthday was a fair ways away he had been meaning to get to work on that potion he wanted to brew for him. Suddenly an idea came to him.

"I can see why you'd want to do that. It was awfully kind of him to help you out like that." He began

"I know right? But I'm stumped on what to get him. I was going to get him like a book or something but then I learned that he was royalty and has access to the entire library here… That and the fact that I'm completely broke which means that It's going to have to be cheap so I'm not sure if he'll even appreciate it…" She trailed off her short rant. Losing herself in her thought, obviously trying to figure out a solution to her problem.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Chrom's never been one for glitter and gold so cheap is good," he said, trying his best to sound reassuring.

"Really? That's good. Still, though, It needs to be something small and portable, as well as useful and I can't think of anything that he doesn't already have…" She lost herself in thought once again. A common occurrence as far as Stahl could tell.

He cleared his throat, "Well Chrom's birthday is in a bit and I was going to brew up a concoction I was thinking of, but the issue is it's sorta a hassle to get a hold of all the ingredients,"

Amy's face lit up with excitement as she came to the same conclusion that Stahl had a while ago. "I can help!" She exclaimed, "That way we both get what we want right?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Stahl confirmed for her. "Now the potion I was thinking of takes-"

"Stahl look!" Amy interrupted as she pointed out a window looking over the courtyard.

Stahl did as told and saw all the Shepherds dressed up in their combat attire, obviously ready for the march to Feroxi... and they were leaving.

That was all the prompting he needed. If he missed the expedition he'd never hear the end of it from Frederick. "Come on we can take my horse!" He called back to Amy. Who dutifully fell into step behind him.

* * *

"... Did you get all that." The knight in green concluded at the end of the impromptu lesson.

Amy reviewed it quickly in her head. "I think so… I never expected it to be so-"

"Hey, Amy!" carried the voice of the blue-haired prince as he strode up beside Stahl. "How are you holding up?" He questioned.

"Oh me? I'm fine. Stahl here was just teaching me how to ride a horse properly." She answered.

"Yeah by coddling her." Interjected the other resident Cavalier of the Shepherds. Sully brought her horse up to match the speed of Stahl's. "When I was learning what my teacher did was put me on a horse and slap it in the rear. 'No better way to learn than when you're holding on for dear life,' He'd say. And look how I turned out" She concluded with a grin whilst gesturing to herself.

"And who was this trainer of yours." Frederick's stern voice came from behind them, making his presence known. Like Stahl, Frederick walked beside his horse and lead it by the reigns. Also like Stahl, the horse's saddle was occupied by a coat wearing tactician. The only difference being that Bishop was fast asleep slouch over atop the horse.

"What happened to him?" Sully said, voicing the obvious question.

Frederick let a grunt, he would have to find out the identity of the reckless trainer another time it seemed. "It would appear that our tactician had neglected his rest last night." He answered simply.

Amy laughed, drawing the attention over to her. "Yeah, he was up all night last night reading some book that he had been given. Something about 'public appearance' and 'social edicate' he said.

Now it was Chrom's turn to laugh. "Whilst I appreciate his dedication, perhaps next time you could do him a favour and send him to bed on time."

Amy only nodded in return. Before the conversation could continue Virion and Vaike, who had been sent ahead to scout the path, appeared on the horizon, Vaike was waving his axe with Virion right behind him.

Chrom began calling out orders for the shepherds to ready themselves, shortly after Amy took over and organized a proper defence. By the time the two scouts reached them, the shepherds were prepared for combat.

"Report," Chrom commanded to the currently slightly tired scouts,

"Purple dudes! The bastards shot me!" Cried Vaike, rather unhelpfully whilst gesturing to the arrow that was stuck in his soldier, although it didn't seem to bother him all that much.

"Risen. They will be upon us shortly," Virion supplied in lieu of Vaikes rambling.

"How many?" Amy said, steering Stahl's horse up to were the conversation was taking place.

"I'd say about 20 or so. M'lady," The archer said with a smile and a bow.

Amy placed her hand to her chin. "Right lemme think," she said

"I say we move up to the upcoming bridge, if we can take it we can use it as a choke point to hold back their forces." Everyone turned to look at Bishop, who was now awake and clutching a map.

"Oh, good idea!" Amy exclaimed, pounding a fist into her palm, "Who doesn't love a good choke point right?" She turned to Chrom "Have the shepherds move up, we'll put the infantry in a loose line in front and the mages behind them. Virion can take up position in that tower and once we've broken them a bit, the calvary can charge in and mop up the rest!" She declared, hands on her hips,

Chrom nodded and then turned to the rest of the party, who had been listening in on the conversation. "Alright, Shepherds you heard them! Let's move people!" He commanded and the party began moving once more.

* * *

Amy couldn't help but smile as she watched the risen archers, who stupidly stood their ground, get run down by the combined might of Stahl and sully, Frederick wasn't there, he had to be subbed in for Vaike after the shirtless maniac took a nasty blow and left a hole in their line, so was resting. fortunately, the two cavaliers were enough to clean up the remaining risen forces. "Speaking of Vaike…" She mumbled, trying to pick him out, he wasn't supposed to be in the line in the first place, somewhere along the way he had misplaced his axe, add on the fact that he wasn't wearing armour and he certainly didn't make for an effective linesman. She spotted the man sitting down on a stump along with their resident healer, Lissa, his axe was propped up beside him, covered in the weird purple fluid that could be considered the risen's 'blood' implying that he found it at one point. She also managed to spot her brother, who was talking with the new mage that showed up out of nowhere. She glanced back over once more and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Is everything alright?"

"Ahh!" She cried out and spun to face the sudden voice. Behind her stood a plate mail wearing knight with a massive shield. Silently she wondered how he managed to sneak up on her in all that armour put that thought aside for now. "Oh uh… hello. H-How can I help you?" she asked.

"You seemed annoyed, is everything alright," The soft-spoken knight said simply.

"Oh no I'm fine, I just couldn't find… someone," She muttered looking at the list in her hand and the assembled shepherds. The list called on someone by the name of 'Kellem' but she had never heard nor seen this individual.

"Oh, that's me." The knight, who she now knew as Kellem said from just over her shoulder, causing her to jump once more. "Stop doing that!" She exclaimed, whirling to face and glare at him, eliciting only a sigh as he stepped back.

"Doing what?" He asked, although his tone betrayed his supposed ignorance.

"Sneaking up on me!" Amy explained loudly, "how did you even… how did you…" Her anger diminished just like that as her mind began working once again. "I'm sorry you said that you're Kellem?"

"Yeah. I'm Kellem. I was told to come check in with you?"

"Right right." She took another look at her list. "What exactly did you do during that fight, I didn't see you."

He pointed behind him with a gauntlet clad fist. "I was told to hold that ford. So that we wouldn't be flanked."

Amy looked and sure enough along the river, a little way was a small crossing, which rocks held one or two rusty blades lodged between them, the only, yet decisive, evidence of the risen who had tried to cross. "So you did…"

Amy checked off the name on her list, confident that even if she didn't see him the knight was still following orders, or at least someone's orders. Speaking of which, "Who told you to do that?" She asked,

"Eh… who else? Your brother." Kellem answered simply

"Oh, of course. Right well, thank you, Kellem. I've got work to do though so off with you." She turned back to the rest of the shepherds. Even though she didn't hear him go she suspected Kellem had taken his leave. The fight went well, they hadn't lost anyone and only suffered minor, bar Vaike, injuries. "Here's hoping our luck holds," she muttered under her breath.


End file.
